Oberlin College recently announced that it will be hosting its new five-year B.A./B.F.A. program in Cleveland Heights’ Park Arts, which will take shape as a cooperative community of creative organizations from across Cleveland. Through its involvement in the community, the College hopes to construct a space for organizations, artists, and Oberlin students to collaborate and to create long-lasting artistic connections.

The project aims to restore and reimagine elements of the former Park Synagogue Cleveland Heights campus, integrating sustainability-targeted innovations like geothermal heating and cooling, while also honoring the historic Mendelsohn building and even keeping the synagogue operational for High Holiday services, according to Cleveland Jewish News. The plan is to preserve the historic structure while bringing new opportunities for creativity and artistic innovation. 

Due to the synagogue’s rich history as a hub of Jewish life in 20th-century Cleveland, Oberlin’s partnership also provides an opportunity to expand the offerings of the Jewish Studies department. Students will be able to access the congregation’s building and the archives and conduct research on the history of Park Synagogue to supplement their coursework. 

“I envision Jewish Studies faculty bringing our students there on class visits, which will undoubtedly enhance their studies of Jewish history, religion, and culture.” Shari Rabin, chair of Oberlin’s Jewish Studies department, wrote to the Review. “The site invites conversation on a range of important topics, including Jewish art, worship, denominationalism, community life, migration, and suburbanization.”

Sustainable Community Associates is responsible for the redevelopment of the space. SCA is a Cleveland-based group of Oberlin alumni dedicated to revitalizing urban areas through sustainable and socially responsible development. In Oberlin, SCA played a pivotal role in developing shops and apartments on East College St. near Slow Train Cafe. 

Apart from the College’s connection to SCA, Oberlin has become involved with the project through its new B.A./B.F.A. program, which will allow students to earn two degrees — a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts — in just five years. 

Julia Christensen, the B.A./B.F.A. program director, explained that while looking for a campus space outside of Oberlin for students in their fifth year of the program, she was approached by SCA through SPACES, a Cleveland-based arts organization of which she was a board member. SCA had been “tapped to oversee the transition of the synagogue into a secular art space for the City of Cleveland,” according to Christensen.

“They came to me as a board member of SPACES, and they were like, ‘What can you imagine happening here?’” Christensen said. “And I was like, ‘What I can imagine happening here is Oberlin doing this fifth-year program.’ … I texted the dean that day and said, ‘You’ve got to see this place.’ And from there, it’s been snowballing. It all kind of came together.” 

Oberlin then partnered with Park Arts to integrate the B.A./B.F.A. program into the planned artistic community.

Oberlin will operate primarily out of what is being referred to as the “school wing,” which will include multi-media art studios, classrooms, a woodshop, a digital fabrication laboratory, and more. Although Oberlin will have its own wing, students may still use any of the various facilities on the campus.

The 28-acre site will host various other facilities, including intergenerational housing — at least 50 apartments where students will live off-campus alongside Cleveland-based artists and other residents — as well as a preschool. Additionally there will be approximately 36 private studios. All facilities on the campus will be connected by pathways lined with trees and grass. 

According to Christensen, the “mothership” of the synagogue building will be Glass Auditorium, a large multipurpose room with sprung floors for theater productions and dance recitals. 

“Behind that, there will be video and post-production studios, and also a sound studio to record in,” Christensen said. “That sound studio doubles as a control room for Glass [Auditorium].”

Christensen also promises “galleries galore” — spaces for students and community artists to display their work. 

The location of the campus will give students access to Cleveland’s art scene, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, and many other distinguished performance spaces and artistic galleries. 

The first Oberlin College B.A./B.F.A. students are set to arrive at the campus the summer before the 2027–28 school year. Upon their arrival, students will have full access to campus facilities and resources. The program will also secure internships for students’ final year in Cleveland, allowing students to establish professional connections with local studios, museums, galleries, theaters, and other artistic spaces. 

Students interested in the program have expressed their excitement at joining Park Arts and the potential for community-building in Cleveland.

“I believe the communal aspect of art is important,” Latriva Pierce, second-year Creative Writing and Musical Studies major, wrote in an email to the Review. “Being in a space with other organizations and creatives, opening the door for collaboration, will be a special experience and opportunity to expand old skills and learn new ones.”

Despite the first year at Park Arts being nearly two years away, the application for the inaugural B.A./B.F.A. class opens May 5 of this year and closes May 30. In addition to the application, those interested in the program must take an Integrated Arts workshop, listed as PRAX 300 and co-taught by a few different Oberlin professors, including Christensen.

“We are thrilled to forge this connection between Oberlin and the greater Cleveland community,” President Carmen Twillie Ambar said in the College’s news release announcing the Park Arts collaboration. “This partnership allows us to honor one of Cleveland’s historical Jewish synagogues while our students interact with the region’s cultural institutions. Our students will gain real-world experience and contribute their talents to a city known for artistic excellence. It bridges Oberlin’s close-knit campus with the creative energy of Cleveland and Cleveland Heights.”